I picked up Lavender and Haddock: The Trouble with Wyrms Part 1 just last week, with the promise of a funny read and ended up plowing through the book with ease. Mind you, I didn’t read the synopsis of the book before I got it. Occasionally I walk on the wild side and trust my instincts based on the cover and reviews. While touted as a funny and hilarious story, it was the cover that had me. It includes a smartly dressed man and woman, one of which is holding a pistol, with a dragon standing behind them holding a sign that says, “Votes for Women.” What more did I need! This cover alone promised more fun and nonsense than a barrel full of ferrets, so I dove right in, and I am very glad that I did.

The story takes place in 1912 England, which is another hook for me given my affinity for British stories. The plot, which I won’t give away any spoilers, is unusual and silly, much to my delight. Imagine a pack of women, all named after fish, trying to accomplish a mission while attempting to integrate with their surroundings and keeping their sensible wardrobes clean. Their antics at times reminded me of the phrase, “herding cats.” These women were as different from one another as they could be, and coordinating them seemed to be as impossible as herding cats. Their mission is to find dragons, specifically the Wyrms of England so that they can defeat Tarantulus Spleen.

Making the plot more amusing was the outrageous characters and the liberal sprinkling of magic. The characters include a pile of sensibly dressed women and one man who and in effect, space traveling witches, a rat man hybrid named Vermyn Stench, and a sorcerer named Tarantulus Spleen. Add to that a pack of rats that, “could go through your undercarriage like a doctor’s thermometer,” and the zany residents of Sodden-on-the-Bog, and you have a recipe for laugh out loud entertainment.

Lavender and Haddock had the full package for me, having a great story, dynamic characters, amusing dialogue, and the right combination of magic and silliness. I recommend this book to anyone who is in the mood for a light-hearted, funny read. I will be reading Part 2, Educating Creatures, very soon.